International Women's Day 2025

International Women’s Day takes place on 8 March and this year’s theme is 'Accelerate Action'. 

At the current rate of progress, it will take until 2158, which is roughly five generations from now, to reach full gender parity, according to data from the World Economic Forum.

Focusing on the need to accelerate action, LJMU has events taking place across campus for students and staff this March to get involved in.  

Events at LJMU 

Strength in Action: Women Redefining Change

Staff and students and the Liverpool community are invited to join us on Friday 7 March as we celebrate the incredible contributions of women at LJMU. 

In line with this year’s theme, the Diversity and Inclusion team in collaboration with the Women Academic Network and Women in Professional Services Network, will shine a spotlight on impactful projects, research, and community engagement activities through presentations and poster displays.

Our panel of speakers includes: 

• Dr Aileen Jones, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for External Engagement and Partnerships at LJMU, Aileen has split her career between the public and private sectors, including three years in Parliament as a Committee Specialist, leading Select Committee inquiries on a wide range of issues including security, criminal justice and community relations. 

• Angela Samata, Deputy Lieutenant of Merseyside, TEDx Speaker, trainee psychotherapist, and presenter of the BBC1 BAFTA-nominated documentary Life After Suicide, winner of the Mind Media Award for Best Factual TV Documentary and LJMU Honorary Fellow. 

• Professor Laura Serrant CBE PhD,  a globally recognized leadership and inclusion specialist. Laura empowers professionals and organisations. A BBC Expert Woman and acclaimed author, she was named among the UK’s most influential Black individuals and honoured with a CBE and Freedom of the City of London in 2024. Her poem You Called...And We Came is inscribed on the National Windrush Monument, and she hosts the Speaking for Ourselves podcast. 

This is an inclusive event open to everyone. We encourage men to join us in celebrating the contributions of women and inspiring bold, assertive actions that drive meaningful change. Places are limited so please register for the free IWD event.

John Moores Students’ Union (JMSU) International Women’s Day: student event

JMSU will be hosting an International Women’s Day event for all students. Held at the end of March, sign up to the IWD event.

Walk and talk with LJMU’s women researchers: staff event

LJMU will be hosting a walk and talk session for staff with three women LJMU academics. Meet at the Student Life Building on Wednesday 5 March, 2pm to 4pm, and walk around the city stopping at various points of interest along the way as each academic discusses their research: 

• Fiona Armstrong-Gibbs: Reducing inequalities in local government and volunteering organisations

• Avril Rowley: Future-proofing the environment through outdoor education

• Hannah Baumeister: Forced marriage

More walk and talk information is available on Eventbrite where you can also register your attendance on the free walk. 

Other things going on across the university 

The Sport and Exercise Sciences will host an event to engage with local schoolchildren Here Come The Girls: The Future of Sport and Exercise Sciences. This annual event will bring 60 female pupils and their teachers onto campus to explore the wonders of sport and exercise sciences through topics that focus on women and girls being active or excelling in sport. 

The school will also host veteran’s charity Help for Heroes for a Community Sport Series event which will see a weekend of activities, focused on women, taking place on campus.  

It’s a significant year for the school which is celebrating 50 years of sport science having launched the UK’s first sports science degree in 1975. Today LJMU remains one of the best universities in the world for sport and exercise science – ranking sixth in the world and second in the UK for the subject in the QS World University Rankings 2024. 

Find out more 

We're delighted to celebrate International Women’s Day across the university. 

To find out more about diversity and inclusion at LJMU, plus how to join one of our women’s staff networks, visit our D&I webpages.

Keep an eye on our LJMU LinkedIn and LJMU Instagram pages for updates and images from the International Women’s Day events.